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Hi and welcome to my Isuzu Bellett, Holden Gemini, Holden Rodeo, Holden VY Sandman page!

CarDomain asked me to choose my model of Isuzu and of course Bellett wasn't there, so I chose

Isuzu 117, but I seemed to have been listed under Isuzu Trooper. Dammit! I wish I did have

an Isuzu 117 and came close to buying one of only about 2 in South Australia, but the lady

bailed on the sale.

This is an update; my old page feature my two 'nice' Belletts, but there's more to cars than

just being nice! I've also got two ratty Belletts, my hot Holden Gemini (aka Isuzu Gemini),

my dear wife's Holden Rodeo (aka Isuzu Rodeo) and my 2004 Holden Commodore; the odd one out

being the only non-Isuzu product in the fleet!

This one is a 1966 Isuzu Bellett sedan which I've 90% restored. It's an early-model Bellett

and has the tear-drop tail lights and early dashboard. This one is a fairly rare job as it is

a 4-speed column-shift, bench-seat model! Definitely at odds with the Bellett's notion of

sportiness! Of course Belletts were only 'sporty' until about 1967 when Ford Australia bought

out the Falcon GT with 289ci V8, and suddenly the Bellett was, well not quote so sporty.

The Bellett below is a 1967 Isuzu Bellett GT coupe. It was apparently written off in Victoria

in the early 1980s. At this point it was stripped for parts for someone's Bellett GT rally

car (why would do you that??!?) and then sold to Glenn Percy, who rebuilt it using some sedan

bits, hence the sedan front stone guard and bumper. It also has an early-model sedan grille

and headlight surrounds. This should have the single-headlight front with a black mesh,

split-level grille, but it doesn't and I can't find one! I've got a twin-headlight GT front

coming... I think.

Perhaps Glenn's biggest modification was the installation of an Isuzu 117 DOHC EFI G200W motor

with a 5-speed Rodeo gearbox. This gives it a fair turn of speed, although now it needs some

sensors replaced and runs a bit rich. I've also removed the over-riders to try to help bring

it back to that original GT look, plus I've put a set of Bellett Deluxe wheel covers on it so

it's looks a bit more standard. It's great at the lights as it looks a little stodgy, but

shows a clean pair of heels when you need it to! Glenn sold it to Dean Beazley in Queensland,

who then sold it on eBay; between Glenn and Dean they owned it for about 26 years, but before

that the history is a mystery.

I've also put a set of red-walls tyres on it; above is a pic of it all spruced up for my mate

Ross's wedding in October 2007. Below is a photo of the car at the Bellett Nationals, also in

October 2007. People came over and said, "Hey this is Glenn's car!" and "Hey this is Dean's

car!" WRONG! It's my f*ckin car! Hahahhahaahahahaha! In the background is a rare Isuzu

Bellett Wasp ute in the background. It's one of 120 brought into Australia back in 1965.

This one is owned by Peter Areskog and was bought new by Bruce A Ruston Signwriters of

Liverpool, New South Wales. Read on for more... By the way, that is my mate Ross standing

with my car and the Wasp.

 

 

Here's another photo from Ross's wedding. He had a 1963 Chrysler Valiant (AP5-model -

'Australian Production 5') that was his Grandfather's since new (RAB-344 on the rego plate),

so he bought another AP5 off eBay, spruced it up and got it ready just in time! Seriously he

was screwing bits onto it about 5 minutes before the wedding. It didn't help that I seconded

him for about 5 days straight for the Bellett Nationals the week before! I was going to take

my Bellett sedan to Ross's wedding as well so there would be 2 Belletts and 2 Valiants, but it

was raining and the windscreen still leaks (not yet caulked) so I gave it a miss. Regardless,

the Valiant's and the Bellett GT look pretty good all neatened up for the wedding!

I've also got another Bellett sedan. This one is more of a 'rat'. I bought it with a whole

heap of parts and was going to wreck it for bits and pieces, but then Ross and I fixed the

exhaust on it and now I drive it all the time! It's great! Even my wife likes it, we were

driving it every day for a few months, but it was laid up for two weeks staight over summer

when the temperature was about 110F for 14 days in a row! It overheats a little on hot days,

plus it has no air conditioning! It's a top beast though; don't let the crap paint job fool

you! This thing goes really well and so far has been the nicest to drive and most reliable

bloody Bellett I've owned! It handles pretty well too as someone has installed a 2nd

transverse leaf-spring across the rear suspension. I really need to do that to my GT as it

frequently tried to kill me. With this Rat Bellett, I'm was going to matt-black it and put

some pinstripes on it and have Australia's first rat-rod Bellett, but that unique patina is

growing on me. I was gonna do it rough originally, but it's so good and it drives and handles

so well that I want to make sure it's done properly to save it from the dreadest rust!

 

 

At the Bellett Nationals in 2007 I caught wind of a Bellett Wasp in NSW. When Peter Areskog

rocked up in his yellow, signwritten Bellett Wasp ute, fellow Bellett-owner George Cole piped

up and said to me, "I know where there's one of them exactly the same,". After some

clarifying about how 'the same' he meant, "I mean same colour, same paint scheme, same phone

number! It's THE SAME!" I suggested to him that he keep this between himself and me as I was

fairly intersted in such a beast! Because George already had about three Wasps to his name,

he didn't see any harm in that and after the Nationals got me a phone number for the owner,

Scott the bushie from Gulgong.

Here's my VY Sandman towing the Bellett Wasp for a lap of Bathurst. Colin Bond raced a

Bellett at the 1965 Armstrong 500 and came 30th, then again at the 1966 Gallaher 500 and

came... 30th again. I imagine that my Bellett would have put in a stronger lap behind the

POWER that is my VY Sandman than Bondy's poor Bellett could muster under it's own steam (and

brakes!)

Anyway, it took some juggling but I managed to pull it off and by January 2008, the yellow

Bellett Wasp was in my garage. My wife had told me some months prior that I was to buy NO

MORE Belletts! I was happy to shake on this arrangement, but only if the purchase of a

Bellett Wasp was excempt. She agreed full well knowing how rare they are. For instance,

outside of the Bellett Nationals, we've never, EVER seen one on the road, although I know of

two roadworthy items in South Australia. So yeah, that one backfired on her real good!

The brakes didn't work and the thing has some pretty good rust, but it's complete and 100%

unmolested and original. I actually Googled "Bruce A Ruston" signwriters and had a chat with

Dave, I think, who started as an apprentice under Bruce back in the early 1980s. He'd then

bought the business from Bruce and was the one who sold both mine and Peter Areskog's cars in

the mid 1990s.

He told me that Peter's was bought new in 1965 and mine was bought 'new' in 1967, however they

full-well knew that the 2nd Wasp was from the original 1965 batch as it took them 2-3 years to

sell the full 120-odd cars that came out here. It must have been a hard sell as by 1967 a new

model Bellett had been released with an updated dashboard, grille and 5-main bearing engine as

opposed to the 3-main bearing engine in the earlier Belletts. Not to mention the fact that

the Wasp has NO room inside! They are seriously designed for dwarfs. Or Asians. Or Asian

dwarfs.

He also mentioned that my particular car was used every single day from 1967 until 1997 when

it was finally retired. During that time, they had the original engine re-sleeved at 940,000

miles! I asked him, "You mean 94,000 miles?" and he told me that it had gone around the clock

9 times and that they sold it with around 95,000 miles on the clock, which is really 995,000

miles! It has 997,000 miles on it now... but Scott the Bushie from Gulgong didn't supply me

with the full service history so when it ticks over a million miles I can't actually prove it!

ARGH.

In 2009, the Bellett Owners of Australia are planning a Nationals around the Bay to Birdwood

Classic car run in Adelaide. I just need to make sure all my vehicles are roadworthy by (or

continue to be until) then. After that, I might pull one or two off the road for a resto.

On top of these crazy Belletts, I've got a 1978 TD-model Holden Gemini van.

 

 

With age and rust, these particular cars are getting pretty rare. My version is a 1978 'TD' model Holden Gemini panelvan which has been re-powered, with a G200Z 1949cc Isuzu SOHC motor (probably from a Holden Rodeo or Holden Jackaroo - aka Isuzu Rodeo or Isuzu Trooper), mated to Isuzu's Philipino-built MSG 5-speed gearbox (which was a factory option). The frontal styling is pure Isuzu/Holden Gemini, but the rear quarter panels and doors are from Britains Vauxhall

Chevette wagon-based Bedford Chevanne. In fact, the doors, winder mechanisms and door locks

are completely different to the Isuzu items and even have little Opel symbols on the interior

door handles! So it's a real Japan-German Gemini-Kadett-Chevanne hybrid! Ok so that wasn't

really that brief, but the end result is, that it's getting pretty f*ckin rare, not just here,

but worldwide.

A couple of years ago the big-dollar G200Z engine I got built died in the arse (Australian for "Sh!t Itself" and I put it away. I need to get some rust cut out and give it a proper birthday, then I might look at putting a 4ZE1 2600cc Rodeo motor in there!

Recently my wife decided the old VH-model Holden Commodore was getting a bit long in the

tooth, so she biffed it into the back of a 4WD. We got paid out on it for insurance and I

managed to fix it up using a cashy repair job and some panels from a local wrecking yard that

were, amazingly, the correct colour! We used the Rat Bellett as a daily driver for a few

months, but the reality was that it wasn't really that practical for long-term use and she

decided she wanted, practical as ever, a dual-cab ute (pick up). Ok, I had no problems with

that, but it had to be a Holden Rodeo, I told her, as they are both a Holden (at least in

name) AND an Isuzu! Not only that, they're a direct descendant of the Isuzu Wasp and, from

what I've heard, are tough as nails.

So we bought this!

It's all standard besides a dodgy CD player, 16" Toyota Prado wheels and a lowering job.

These pics were taken by the previous owner (also called Scott) who did put some height back

into it before selling it to us. What's with Isuzu utes owned by guys called Scott? So far

we've bought two from these Scotts. Where do they come from?!?!

OK, finally we have a 2004 VY-model Holden SS Sandman. The Holden SS Sandman (or to give it

it's full name, Holden SS Ute Sandman Conversion by HBD) is basically a ute (or pickup)

converted to a van by means of a nicely integrated canopy, then stuffed full of Pontiac GTO

5.7 litre V8 goodness! It drives like a sports car and can fit a couple of chicks in it!

I've only had one in there at a time though. Mainly my wife. Ok only my wife....

Here it is at Ayer's Rock in the middle of the Northern Territory.

Hope you like the pics.

Cheers,

Dave